Best Urban Oasis

The jungle that lies in an oxbow curve of Bangkok's Chao Phraya river, barely two kilometers from the central business district, goes by more than one name?Phra Pradaeng and Bangkrachao are the most common, but it's also been nicknamed "the lung of Bangkok." It's an apt description for this precious antidote to a traffic-choked capital with too few parks.

Many city dwellers are unaware that Phra Pradaeng even exists?and that's just how its habitu?like it. The area is served either by a single, hard-to-find road or by boat. The latter requires you to brave a rickety wooden jetty,...